Leaderless Quick Release Fishing Assembly

ABSTRACT

A saltwater fishing assembly includes a body resembling a forage fish. The body includes a quick connect device that is swivelable relative to a fishing line and is reelable to a fishing rod tip. A quick connection subassembly is connectable to the quick connect device of the body and includes a hook and is releasable with a hooked fish. Methods of using the fishing assembly are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/718,268, filed Mar. 5, 2010, entitled Leaderless Quick ReleaseFishing Assembly, to inventors Ross Langdon Taylor et al., the contentsof which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A fisherman typically attaches a fishing lure to an end of a fishingline extending from a fishing rod and reel. To attract fish, the fishinglure is designed to resemble and move like the prey of the targetedfish. Specifically, the fishing lure attracts the attention of the fishthrough movement, vibration, color, and the like. The fishing lure isequipped with one or more single, double, or treble hooks that are usedto hook the fish when it attacks the lure.

Saltwater pelagic fish, specifically epipelagic fish, inhabit theepipelagic zone of the sea. The epipelagic zone is the water from thesurface of the sea down to 200 meters. Epipelagic fish can be broadlydivided into small forage fish, and larger predator fish which feed onthe smaller forage fish.

The standard angler arrangement for game fishermen wishing to lure andcatch the larger predator fish includes, in the following order, arod/reel, fishing line, a “Bimini Twist”, a swivel, fluorocarbon, a lureand a hook.

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has a rule directed toepipelagic fishing: “The length of the leader is the overall lengthincluding any lure, hook arrangement or other device. The leader must beconnected to the line with a snap, knot, splice, swivel or other device.There are no regulations regarding the material or strength of theleader. Saltwater species: In all line classes up to and including 20lbs. {10 kg}, the leader shall be limited to 15 feet {4.57 meters}. Thecombined length of the double line and leader shall not exceed 20 feet{6.1 meters}. The leader on all classes of tackle over 20 lb {10 kg}shall be limited to 30 feet {9.14 meters}. The combined length of thedouble line and leader shall be limited to 40 feet {12.19 meters}.”

The “leader” referenced by the IGFA rule is the arrangement between thestandard fishing line and the hook. As stated, it includes the leader, adouble line, and any lure, hook arrangement, or other device.

As briefly introduced above, the double line is commonly referred to asthe “Bimini Twist” in IGFA tournament fishing. Typically, when a pelagicpredator fish is reeled near the capturing vessel, it becomes frightenedand will run (swim away from the boat), perhaps several times, beforethe fish can be captured. As the IGFA also has rules on line strengthfor certain types of fish targeted in tournaments, the Bimini Twistprovides extra strength in the moment that a fish might turn to flee andis therefore regulated within IGFA rules. The movement of a fish tryingto run creates a snap force that could break the leader/linecombination. This movement requires the aforementioned extra strength inthe Bimini Twist.

Although the Bimini Twist is included in the leader length (along withany lure, hook arrangement, etc.), the bulk of the leader is usually aform of fishing line called fluorocarbon, or a less expensivemonofilament line. Fluorocarbon fishing line is made of thefluoropolymer PVDF and is valued for its refractive index, which issimilar to that of water, making it less visible to fish.

A common fishing swivel usually connects the double line and thefluorocarbon (followed by the associated lure, hook arrangements, etc.).In essence, the swivel connects the fishing line to the hook. A swivelcannot be spooled onto a reel. Therefore, when an angler reels a hookedfish, the nearest an angler can reel in the fish would be to the swivel.Referencing the IGFA leader rule, that can mean that there may be asmuch as 30 feet of leader assembly in the water.

From here forward, the term “leader” will refer specifically to thefluorocarbon. The most efficient use of the leader and its length is acritical decision for epipelagic anglers. Roughly 90% of all hooked fishthat are not captured are lost at the boat while the mate (the assistantto the boat captain and the angler) is “leadering” the fish to the boat.

“Leadering” is a term used to describe the mate's activities inrecouping the final 30 feet of fishing line with a potential fish on thehook. Typically, the mate is required to pull the leader in by hand asthe angler is only able to reel the fishing line onto the reel/spool upto the swivel, which leaves as much as 30 feet of line in the water uponwhich the fish is putting tension. This typically presents the followingissues. First, the leader can become bundled up at the mate's feet,causing him to be in danger of the leader getting caught around hisfeet, especially if the fish runs. Second, more often than not, in orderto get a proper grip on the wet leader, the mate will wrap the leaderaround his hand a couple of times to get the fish closer. Again, if thefish decides to run, the mate could injure this hand and also be draggedinto the water. In extreme cases, the mate can be caught tightly enoughin the line that he will be forced under water and drown. Third, thetime associated with this technique causes further fatigue and shock tothe hooked fish. The chance of the survival of the fish diminishes, ifthe fish is too tired to run from potential prey upon release. Fourth,additional danger, time, and fatigue are involved, while the materemoves the hook from the mouth of the fish.

What is needed in the fishing industry is a fishing lure assembly thatpermits the angler to reel the fish completely to the side of the boat,and to the rod tip such that a mate no longer has to manually “leader”the fish to the boat. The desired fishing lure assembly should be costeffective and relatively easy to manufacture and use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is directed in general to a fishing assembly thateliminates the need for a swivel as an intermediate connection. Thefishing assembly incorporates a swivel that is part of aninterchangeable head of a lure or to which the head is attachable. Thus,the standard leader is eliminated by instead connecting the fluorocarbonline directly to a lure to allow an angler to reel in the entire fishingassembly.

For example, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, aleaderless fishing assembly for use with a rod and reel may include alure portion having a first end and a second end, each of the first andsecond ends having a quick release fitting, the first end being disposedin a direction of a rod tip and the second end being disposed oppositethe first end in a direction away from the rod tip; a first quickconnection subassembly connectable to the quick release fitting of thefirst end, the first quick connection subassembly being configured toswivel and being reelable to the rod tip; and a second quick connectionsubassembly connectable to the quick release fitting of the second end,the second quick connection subassembly having a hook and beingreleasable with a hooked fish. The lure portion may include a bodyappearing as prey for a predator fish.

In this aspect, the quick release fitting of the first end may be a malefitting having a race defined therein. The first quick connectionsubassembly may be rotatable relative to the male fitting. Also in thisaspect, the quick release fitting of the second end may be a femalefitting having a spring constant, and may include one or more ballbearings disposed therein. The quick release fittings may be located atopposite ends of a shaft, the shaft being positioned within the lureportion between the respective quick release fittings.

The first quick connection subassembly in this embodiment may alsoinclude a collar having a spring constant. The collar may be movable torelease or attach the lure portion. Similarly, the quick release fittingof the second end of the lure portion may include a collar having aspring constant, and the collar may be movable to release or attach thesecond quick connection subassembly.

In another embodiment, a saltwater fishing assembly may include a bodyconfigured to resemble a prey fish, the body being swivelable relativeto a fishing line and reelable to a fishing rod tip, the body having aquick connect device; and a quick connection subassembly beingconnectable to the quick connect device of the body, the quickconnection subassembly having a hook, the quick connection subassemblybeing releasable from the quick connect device of the body for releasewith a hooked fish.

The quick connect device of the body of this saltwater fishing assemblymay include a collar having a spring constant. The collar may be pulledaway from a mouth of the hooked fish to release the hooked fish with thequick connection subassembly.

Also in this aspect of the disclosure, the quick connection subassemblymay be a male connection and the quick connect device of the body may bea female connection. The quick connect device of the body may includeone or more ball bearings, and the quick connection subassembly mayinclude a race. The ball bearing may have a spring constant urging theball bearing into the race to hold the body and the quick connectionsubassembly together.

In a further embodiment of the disclosure, a fishing assembly for usewith a rod and reel may include a lure portion having a first end and asecond end, each of the first and second ends having a quick releasefitting, the first end being disposed in a direction of a rod tip andthe second end being disposed opposite the first end in a direction awayfrom the rod tip; a first quick connection subassembly connectable tothe quick release fitting of the first end, the first quick connectionsubassembly having means for swivelling, the means for swivelling beingreelable to the rod tip; and a second quick connection subassemblyhaving means for connecting a hook to the quick release fitting of thesecond end of the lure portion.

The means for swivelling may be a ball bearing rotatable relative to thelure portion. The ball bearing may be positioned between a movablecollar of the first quick connection subassembly and a race defined inthe quick release fitting of the first end. The means for swivelling maypreclude the need for a leader.

The means for connecting may be a male quick connect device defining arace therein, and the quick release fitting of the second end of thelure portion may have one or more ball bearings that can roll about therace.

The disclosure also provides methods of fishing without requiring aleader assembly. For instance, the method may include providing a lureportion having a first end and a second end, each of the first andsecond ends having a quick release fitting, the first end being disposedin a direction of a rod tip and the second end being disposed oppositethe first end in a direction away from the rod tip; providing a firstquick connection subassembly connectable to the quick release fitting ofthe first end, the first quick connection subassembly being configuredto swivel and being reelable to the rod tip; connecting the first quickconnection subassembly to a fishing line depending from the rod tip; andproviding a second quick connection subassembly connectable to the quickrelease fitting of the second end, the second quick connectionsubassembly having a hook and being releasable with a hooked fish.

The method may also include steps of reeling the first quick connectionsubassembly to the rod tip and actuating the second quick connectionsubassembly to release the hook with the hooked fish.

The method may include replacing the second quick connectionsubassembly.

The method may further include separating the first quick connectionsubassembly from the quick release fitting of the first end of the lureportion and replacing the lure portion.

Additional objects and advantages of the present subject matter are setforth in, or will be apparent to, those of ordinary skill in the artfrom the detailed description herein. Also, it should be furtherappreciated that modifications and variations to the specificallyillustrated, referenced, and discussed features and elements hereof maybe practiced in various embodiments and uses of the disclosure withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the subject matter. Variationsmay include, but are not limited to, substitution of equivalent means,features, or steps for those illustrated, referenced, or discussed, andthe functional, operational, or positional reversal of various parts,features, steps, or the like.

It is to be understood that different embodiments, as well as differentpresently preferred embodiments, of the present subject matter mayinclude various combinations or configurations of presently disclosedfeatures, steps, or elements, or their equivalents (includingcombinations of features, parts, or steps or configurations thereof notexpressly shown in the figures or stated in the detailed description ofsuch figures). Additional embodiments of the present subject matter, notnecessarily expressed in the summarized section, may include andincorporate various combinations of aspects of features, components, orsteps referenced in the summarized objects above, and/or other features,components, or steps as otherwise discussed in this application. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art will better appreciate the features andaspects of such embodiments, and others, upon review of the remainder ofthe specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present subject matter, includingthe best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, isset forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded, perspective view of a leaderless quickrelease assembly according to an aspect of the disclosure, particularlyshowing operation of a hook end of the assembly (not to scale);

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded, perspective view of a leaderless quickrelease assembly as in FIG. 1, particularly showing operation of a rodend of the assembly (not to scale); and

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded, elevational view of a leaderless quickrelease assembly according to another aspect of the disclosure,particularly showing operation of an alternative hook end of theassembly; and

FIG. 4 is perspective view of a typical angler arrangement for targetingpelagic fish, particularly showing a conventional swivel necessitating alengthy leader and requiring leadering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Detailed reference will now be made to the drawings in which examplesembodying the present subject matter are shown. The detailed descriptionuses numerical and letter designations to refer to features of thedrawings. Like or similar designations of the drawings and descriptionhave been used to refer to like or similar parts of various exemplaryembodiments.

The drawings and detailed description provide a full and writtendescription of the present subject matter, and of the manner and processof making and using various exemplary embodiments, so as to enable oneskilled in the pertinent art to make and use them, as well as the bestmode of carrying out the exemplary embodiments. However, the examplesset forth in the drawings and detailed description are provided by wayof explanation only and are not meant as limitations of the disclosure.The present subject matter thus includes any modifications andvariations of the following examples as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a leaderless, quick release fishing assembly isdesignated in general by the element number 10. The exemplary compoundassembly 10 includes a quick release, rod-end subassembly 12, amid-structure or lure portion 14, and a quick release, hook-endsubassembly 16. As shown, the rod-end subassembly 12 is connected to afishing leader or line 1 that depends from an end 7 of a rod and reel 5.More particularly, the line 1 may be connected to the rod-endsubassembly 12 by a rigging ring 18, which is connected, in thisexample, to a quick connect female device 20 of the rod-end subassembly12. As shown, the ring 18 is snapped or spiraled through a hole oraperture 24 of a ring end 22 of the quick connect female device 20.

With particular regard to the line 1 connected to the ring 18 in FIG. 1,the line 1 may be a type of fishing line commonly referred to as“fluorocarbon.” Fluorocarbon fishing line is made of fluoropolymer PVDF(polyvinylidene fluoride) and is valued for its refractive index, whichis similar to that of surrounding water. In other words, fluorocarbon isless visible to fish than ordinary line.

The line 1 may also include a “Bimini Twist.” The Bimini Twist is adouble line used in IGFA tournament fishing for added strength.Typically, when a pelagic predator fish is reeled near a capturingvessel, the fish becomes frightened and will “run” (i.e., swim away fromthe vessel), perhaps several times, before the fish can be captured. Themovement of the running fish can create a snap force that can break aleader/line combination; therefore, this movement requires the extrastrength of the Bimini Twist.

With further reference to the rod-end subassembly 12 in FIG. 1, thequick connect female device 20 may include a movable collar or slide 26.The collar 26 may be knurled or have a textured surface for easiergrasping, especially when wet. As indicated by a double-headed arrow,the collar 26 may be moved back and forth along a shaft or neck 28 ofthe device 20. In this example, the collar 26 is urged by a springconstant in a direction of a ball-bearing end 30 of the device 20. Thus,a user must grasp the collar 26 and pull it toward the ring end 22 torelease the rod-end subassembly 12, as depicted by the double-headedarrow and further described below.

As shown in the inset of FIG. 1, the ball-bearing end 30 of the device20 includes one or more inwardly disposed ball bearings 32 that areurged by a spring constant to project into a raceway or race 39 (seeFIG. 2), or into a plurality of channels, or into respective recesses ofa male end 38 of a shaft 36. When seated in the race 39, the ballbearings 32 hold the subassembly 12 and lure portion 14 together. In apreferred embodiment, the ball bearings 32 permit the subassembly 12 andlure portion 14 to rotate or swivel relative to each other as the ballbearings 32 roll along the race 39 formed in the shaft 36.

More specifically, the shaft 36 shown in FIG. 1 is a quick connect,double-ended structure having, in this example, the male end or firstend 38 and an opposing second or female end 40, the shaft 36 beinguseful in distributing across the fishing assembly 10 the tensionimparted by a hooked fish. As shown, the female end 40 also includes aslide or collar 42, which moves back and forth under a spring constantalong a shaft or neck 44, as depicted by a double-headed arrow. Onebenefit of this exemplary arrangement is that the user can pull thecollar 42 towards the male end 38 rather than push the collar 42 in adirection of or into the mouth of the fish. Additionally, when dealingwith large, dangerous fish, such as Blue Marlin or Sailfish, arelatively less expensive male connection 52 of the hook-end subassembly16 may be released quickly along with the fish, while the relativelymore expensive female end 40 is preserved. It should be understood thatthe foregoing arrangement is merely by way of an example. The male end38 and the female end 40 could be interchanged, or both ends of theshaft 36 could be male, or both ends could be female.

FIG. 1 further shows that the shaft 36 may be surrounded by a fishinglure body or head 34, and may include a skirt or tail 50 that may beconstructed unilaterally with the body 34, or separately therefrom. In aparticular embodiment, the skirt 50 may be attached or connectable tothe hook-end subassembly 16. Additionally, or alternatively, the body 34and the shaft 36 may be of a unitary construction (an alternative body34′ is shown in phantom for clarity). As shown, the body 34 and theskirt 50 may be arranged to appear as a small forage fish to attract thedesired larger predator fish, such as saltwater pelagic fish.

As introduced above and depicted by the double-headed arrow in FIG. 1,the female end 40 of the shaft 36 may be pulled towards the male end 38to expose one or more ball bearings 46. As shown, the ball bearings 46are arranged circumferentially about the neck 44. Similar to the ballbearings 32, when the collar 42 is released or in a relaxed state, theball bearings 46 are urged by a spring constant to project into a race60 of the male connection 52. More particularly, an inner surface 43 ofthe collar 42 urges the ball bearings 46 into the race 60. Accordingly,the mated surfaces may form an inner ring and an outer ring, betweenwhich ball bearings 46 (e.g., chrome plated steel ball bearings) may besandwiched in a pressure fit. Pins or rollers may be used in place of orin addition to the ball bearings 46, and they may also be lubricated. Inone example, the ring or neck 44 may be fixed, and the other connection52 may be free to rotate 360 degrees or some portion thereof.Alternatively, the female end 40 may be constructed to swivel relativeto the male end 52.

More specifically, the hook-end subassembly 16 mates to the female end40 of the shaft 36 by sliding the male connection 52 into the neck 44.As the ball bearings 46 are urged onto the race 60, the user releasesthe collar 42, and its inner surface 43 contains the ball bearings 46 inthe race 60 to hold the subassembly 16 and lure portion 14 together. Tolimit the rotation or swivel of the lure portion 14 and the subassembly16, e.g., to 45 degrees clockwise-counterclockwise, the race 60 could bea series of troughs rather than a continuous race. Similarly, the ballbearings 32 and the race 39 and their related construction and operationmay be comparable to the ball bearings 46 and their race 60.

Finally, FIG. 1 further shows that a ring end 54 of the subassembly 16includes a ring hole 56 through which a rigging ring 58 is attached. Aline 3 and a hook 9 are attached to the rigging ring 58 in a standardfashion. As suggested above, once a fish is hooked and reeled completelyto the boat (due to the absence of a standard leader assembly), theattachment procedure may be reversed by pulling the collar 42 away fromthe mouth of the fish and simply releasing the fish with the relativelyinexpensive hook 9 (and subassembly 16) still attached to the fish.Although the hook 9 may be made of a fast dissolving material to protectthe fish, it is well known that the hook 9 also will rapidly work itsway out of the fish. Once the subassembly 16 is released with the fish,the angler can quickly attach another subassembly 16 utilizing themating features of the female end 40 and the male connection 52 and befishing again within minutes or even seconds.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the subassembly 12, the lure portion 14 and thesubassembly 16 of the quick release fishing assembly 10 are shown in anexploded view. More particularly, end views of the ball-bearing orfemale ends 30, 40 of the subassembly 12 and the lure portion 14 areshown with their respective ball bearings 32, 46 in a relaxed state. Asindicated by the double-headed arrows, the male ends 38, 52 are mated totheir respective female ends 30, 40 to hold the subassembly 12, the lureportion 14 and the subassembly 16 to form the quick release fishingassembly 10 as described above. In this example, the female end 30 isbeing released from the male end 38 in order to change the lure portion14. This may be desirable if the angler wishes to change the appearanceof the body 34 to depict a different type of prey fish or in the eventthat the body 34 has become damaged by a biting fish.

As noted above, the male ends 38, 52 and the female ends 30, 40 may beinterchanged or reversed. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to theexemplary embodiments described above. For instance, FIG. 3 shows aquick release fishing assembly 110 that includes a quick release,rod-end subassembly 112, a mid-structure or lure portion 114, and aquick release, hook-end subassembly 116. In this embodiment, a shaft 136of the lure portion 114 includes a male end 152 for mating with a femaleend 140 of subassembly 116. Otherwise, the components of the subassembly112, the lure portion 114, and the subassembly 116 are similar to thecomponents of the foregoing embodiment and reference is made thereto fora full and enabling disclosure of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

Also shown in FIG. 3 are exemplary quick release connectors that may beused in place of or in conjunction with the connectors described above.For instance, a male end 52′ may be used with a female end 40′ in abayonet-type arrangement in which one or more prongs 60′ may be slidinto and twist-locked into one or more complementary channels 46′.Alternatively, a fork fitting may be use in which a male end 52″ slidesinto a female end 40″ wherein barbed forks 60″ are pressed together andslid into respective keyholes 46″. Thus, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the disclosure is not limited to ball bearing quickrelease arrangements and other arrangements such as squeeze-fit fittingsor twist and lock mechanisms are contemplated by and are within thescope of the disclosure.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a conventional fishing line 501 extends from atip 507 of a rod and reel 505. As known in the industry, the line 501 isconnected to a double line 511 that is permanently tied to a ring end517 of a typical swivel 513. As shown, the conventional swivel 513 usesa press-open fitting 515 that is connected to as much as 30 feet offluorocarbon line 503 tied to a lure 509. The angler using thisconventional arrangement may only reel the swivel 513 up to the rod tip507, which leaves as much as 30 feet of leader in the water that must be“leadered” in by a mate with the inherent dangers to the mate, harm tothe fish and the like. Furthermore, if the fish has swallowed the lure509, the mate either has to cut the line or change the entire assembly.For instance, the mate must take valuable time to open the fitting 515,remove the leader 503 and attach another lure 509. In either case,valuable time is taken, which increases potential harm to the fish.

By employing the embodiments of this disclosure, or their equivalents,rather than a conventional leader arrangement as shown in FIG. 4, thechances of an enjoyable and successful fishing trip are increased whilesafety and fish conservation issues are lessened. Specifically, thefishing assembly 10 as shown in FIG. 1 does away with a conventionalswivel as the connection between the fishing line and the leaderassembly. Because the swivel function is part of the fishing assembly10, there is no conventional leader so the angler may reel the entireassembly 10 to the rod tip 7. Alternatively stated, the fishing assembly10 incorporates the swivel at or near the head of each lure used; thus,the fluorocarbon 1 is connected directly from the rod and reel 5 to thefishing assembly 10.

Accordingly, the fishing assembly 10 ensures that a mate no longer hasto “leader” a fish to the boat since the angler can reel the fishcompletely to the side of the boat and, further, to the rod tip 7. Thisalso means that the mate no longer has to put a conventional leader nextto his feet, risking knots and tangles and further risking that theleader will wrap around his feet or ankles. Additionally, the mate nolonger has to make wraps with the leader around his wrists and hands topull the fish closer, which heretofore risked injury and the possibilityof being pulled overboard. Still further, the use of the fishingassembly 10 frees the mate for more important tasks. Opportunities alsoare increased to capture more fish in the critical vicinity of the boatbecause the angler can keep pressure on the fish.

In addition to increased safety and fishing success, since the anglercan now wind the line, Bimini Twist, and the leader onto the reel, thefish does not have to struggle as much as when with the mate had tomanually “leader” the fish to the boat. The fishing assembly 10 enablesthe mate or the angler to release the hook 9 from the assembly 10 veryquickly, which permits the fish to swim away more quickly with the hook9 in its mouth, leaving the fish with more energy and in bettercondition to fend off potential life-threatening predators. As known,fish have the ability to expel a hook from their mouth over time,causing the fish no long-term harm.

Still further, the fishing assembly 10 increases fishing speed. Intournament situations, a captured fish can be released much more quicklywith fishing assembly 10 than with a typical leader assembly. Inconjunction with the release, the angler has the ability to immediatelyattach another lure to the line eliminating the time it takes to “rig”another bait. This attachment option allows an angler to have anotherlure in the water sooner, which increases the chances of catching fish.

Additionally, in recreational fishing, if the angler desires to keep thefish, the mate is able to release the subassembly 16 with the fish stillhooked on hook 9 into an icebox on the boat and again have another lurein the water sooner to increase the chance of catching more fish andsooner.

While the present subject matter has been described in detail withrespect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated thatthose skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of theforegoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of, andequivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the presentdisclosure is by way of example rather than by way of limitation, andthe subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion of suchmodifications, variations and/or additions to the present subject matteras would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A leaderless fishing assembly for use witha rod and reel, the fishing assembly comprising: a quick connectionsubassembly reelable to a rod tip, the quick connection subassemblydefining a first end and a second end, the first end disposed in adirection of the rod tip, the first end being connectable to a fishingline depending from the rod tip, the second end having a ball bearing,the second end being rotatable 360 degrees relative to the first end; abody rotatable 360 degrees relative to the quick connection subassembly,the body being connectable to the second end, the body defining araceway, the body being rotatable 360 degrees relative to the fishingline; and a collar disposed on the quick connection subassembly, thecollar defining a race, the collar being configured to engage the ballbearing with the raceway, the collar being operable to disengage theball bearing from the raceway by aligning the ball bearing with therace, the collar being rotatable 360 degrees relative to the quickconnection subassembly and the body.
 2. A leaderless fishing assemblyfor use with a rod and reel, the leaderless fishing assembly comprisinga quick connection fitting reelable to a rod tip, the quick connectionfitting defining a first end and a second end the first end beingconnectable to a fishing line depending from the rod tip, the second enddefining a raceway, the first end rotatable 360 degrees relative to thesecond end; a body rotatable 360 degrees relative to the quickconnection subassembly, the body being connectable to the second end,the body having a ball bearing, the body being rotatable 360 degreesrelative to the fishing line; and a collar disposed on the body, thecollar defining a race, the collar being configured to engage the ballbearing with the raceway, the collar being operable to disengage theball bearing from the raceway by aligning the ball bearing with therace, the collar being rotatable 360 degrees relative to the body andthe quick connection subassembly.
 3. A leaderless fishing assembly foruse with a rod and reel, the leaderless fishing assembly comprising: aquick release fitting reelable to a rod tip, the quick release fittingbeing connectable to a fishing line depending from the rod tip, thequick release fitting being connectable to the body, the quick releasefitting having a ball bearing; a body rotatable 360 degrees relative tothe fishing line and to the quick release fitting, the body defining araceway; and a collar disposed on the quick release fitting, the collarconfigured to engage the ball bearing with the raceway, the collardefining a race, the collar being operable to release the body from thequick release fitting by engaging the ball bearing with the race, thecollar being rotatable 360 degrees relative to the quick release fittingand the body.